Civil war in Syria would be catastrophic – Kofi Annan's deputy

The UN Security Council needs to decide how a catastrophic full-scale civil war in Syria can be avoided, says Kofi Annan's deputy Jean-Marie Guehenno.

8:48PM BST 30 May 2012

International mediator Kofi Annan's deputy told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that Syria's 14-month-old uprising is unlikely to stop without political negotiations between the government and opposition, U.N. diplomats said.

Guehenno also told the council that only political negotiations can restore peace to Syria, the diplomats said.

"I believe that in the council there is an understanding that any sliding toward a full-scale civil war in Syria would be catastrophic. The security council now needs to have that kind of strategic discussion on how that needs to be avoided. As far as we are concerned, we have made very clear that it is very important that the security council be united in pushing for a political process that excludes further deterioration and further slide into violence which - after what happened in Houla - is indeed a possible prospect."

Syrian rebels on Wednesday gave President Bashar al-Assad a 48-hour deadline to abide by an international peace plan to end violence or face consequences, a rebel spokesman said.